Women's Basketball

Irish To Play Three Times On ESPN2's 'Big Monday' In 2012-13Notre Dame tied for most appearances by one school on popular Monday night broadcast this season.

Junior guard Kayla McBride and Notre Dame will make three appearances on ESPN2's 'Big Monday' broadcast during the 2012-13 season.

Aug. 17, 2012

NOTRE DAME, Ind. -
Following consecutive trips to the NCAA national championship game and the 2012 BIG EAST Conference regular-season title, Notre Dame will make three appearances on ESPN2's popular "Big Monday" broadcasts during the 2012-13 season, the network announced Thursday afternoon. This marks the second consecutive season the Fighting Irish will play three "Big Monday" games, after sweeping their three Monday outings last year.

Notre Dame's first contest on ESPN2 "Big Monday" will be Jan. 28, when the Fighting Irish travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for a 7 p.m. (ET) non-conference matchup with Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena. The teams also met on "Big Monday" last year at Purcell Pavilion, with Notre Dame defeating the No. 7/9 Lady Vols, 72-44, earning its second consecutive win over UT while holding the Lady Vols to their lowest point total in the Pat Summitt era.

The Fighting Irish then will play host to BIG EAST foe Louisville on ESPN2 "Big Monday" at 9 p.m. (ET) Feb. 11 at Purcell Pavilion. Like the Tennessee matchup, this will be a repeat of a "Big Monday" contest from last season, a game Notre Dame won 68-52 over the 16th-ranked Cardinals at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.

For the second consecutive season, the Fighting Irish and Connecticut will wrap up the regular season on ESPN2 "Big Monday", as the Huskies come to Purcell Pavilion on 7 p.m. (ET) March 4. Last year, Notre Dame clinched the outright BIG EAST regular-season title with a 72-59 win over No. 4 Connecticut at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.

In addition to over-the-air coverage, all "Big Monday" games can be seen on WatchESPN, on-line at WatchESPN.com and through smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

Additional information about the 2012-13 Fighting Irish women's basketball schedule will be released in the coming weeks, pending approval by the University's Faculty Board on Athletics.

After posting a 35-4 record last season, Notre Dame is expected to have two starters and eight total players returning in 2012-13, along with a three-player freshman class that was ranked as high as third in the nation by All-Star Girls Report (and is a consensus top-10 class by all major recruiting services). It's the 16th consecutive year that the Fighting Irish have attracted a top-20 recruiting class, with Notre Dame being one of only three schools in the country to hold that distinction.

The Fighting Irish already have received some early notice from the national media for the upcoming season, with ESPN's Charlie Creme ranking Notre Dame No. 8 in his article entitled "64 Teams To Watch In 2012-13", while Sports Illustrated has projected the Fighting Irish at No. 9 in its early 2012-13 prognostication.

Season ticket renewals for the 2012-13 Notre Dame women's basketball season currently are ongoing, with new season ticket packages going on sale to the public Sept. 18. Fans wishing to learn more about tickets for the upcoming Fighting Irish women's basketball season should contact the Murnane Family Athletics Ticket Office from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) weekdays by calling (574) 631-7356 or visiting the ticket windows located in the lobby of the Rosenthal Atrium at Purcell Pavilion (enter via Gate 9 on the south side of the arena). In addition, the official Notre Dame athletics ticketing web site (UND.com/tickets) is an ideal source of information on both season and single-game tickets for all 26 Fighting Irish varsity sports.

For more information on the Notre Dame women's basketball program, sign up to follow the Fighting Irish women's basketball Twitter pages (@ndwbbsid or @ndwbb), like the program on Facebook (facebook.com/ndwbb) or register for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the "Fan Center" pulldown menu on the front page at UND.com.